A public policy think tank, the Neo Africana Centre, has said the Federal Government and its agencies should explain to Nigerians, the web of lies being woven around the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 elections, Peter Obi.
Particularly, the centre demands from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), an explanation of the cloning of Obi’s identity by an imposter, which led to the embarrassment and humiliation he suffered at Heathrow Airport recently.
Director of Public Affairs of the centre Jenkins Udu, in a statement, wondered how a government department that is fully digitally compliant and which harbors the identity and bio data of Nigerians could duplicate anybody’s identity, let alone that of a prominent citizen of Nigeria.
The statement expressed concern at what the centre called a “series of mischievous pranks being played around Peter Obi by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria.”
These, it noted, include the allegation that Obi was promoting insurrection and therefore should be charged with treason; the unwarranted invasion of his privacy by tapping into and distorting the conversation between him and Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church; and the cloning of his identity.
“Regrettably, all the incidents, so far, are scandalous and border on character assassination.
“More than any other, we take serious exception to the humiliation and embarrassment which Mr. Obi suffered last week at London’s Heathrow Airport over the cloning of his identity.
“This incident must not be glossed over. The concerned authorities, particularly the Nigeria Immigration Service, should take interest in the matter and explain to Nigerians what really happened.
“The impostor who cloned Obi’s identity did not issue himself Nigeria’s international passport. The authorities who issued it should speak up,” the centre demanded.
According to the statement, the turn of events since the February 25 elections leaves much to be desired, adding that the Federal Government should not look the other way while anarchists take over the affairs of the country.
The center said a clear line should be drawn between politics and war, stating that “the ceaseless hunt for a candidate who participated in the elections is suggestive.
“It leaves the public with the impression that Mr. Obi is seen as a threat to whatever the government and the APC represent.
“This reinforces the widely received impression that he won the election but was forcibly rigged out. Otherwise, why are his detractors desperate to put him out of circulation?
“This Peter Obi phobia is both pathetic and reprehensible. It portrays the government as complicit in the drama of the absurd playing out almost daily around Obi.
“A government which chooses to play the ostrich should have no one but itself to blame if things get out of hand.”
